To further develop off of our previous idea, Jackson and I decided to create a theoretical interactive musical piece that exemplifies what could be achieved through modern streaming and web 2.0. Our last creation allowed audiences to influence the decisions of streamers through comments, whereas for this piece we wanted to give viewers more direct control over what they were experiencing on screen.

The idea was to have a musician streaming themselves creating music and have viewers participate in the creative process. We came up with a theoretical app that can sync with the streamers performance and allow viewers to add to the music in real time; while the streamer carried out their performance, viewers would hypothetically log into the app and add musical textures to the streamers performance, creating a direct connection between the viewer and entertainer. Compared to our last assignment, this one gives the audience more choice in how they interact, and the impact they can have upon the final creation is much more apparent and unique.

To allow the streamer to maintain control of their performance, they would be given the ability to control certain elements of the app. By controlling parameters such as tempo, key, pitch, and tones, the streaming musician would still be able to dictate the overall feel and sound of their performance. We chose to add this restriction so that the audience interaction would not become overly chaotic. We also found that the experiment worked best with three to six viewers, as any more would cause the music to become overwhelming, and the elements that each viewer added would not be heard or appreciated. Giving the streamer the ability to limit how many notes each viewer could add is also a feature that we would add to the service, as it would allow for a less cluttered sound and also for more participants to take part at once.

To carry out our idea, we created a beat using a sample pad with a set tempo of 150 bpm. The pad gave visual feedback through lights and patterns, which made it easier for viewers to understand what was happening rhythmically, as well as making it more visually appealing and suitable for a streaming platform. To simulate our hypothetical app, we used an app called ‘Rolling Tones’, which is a simple step sequencer that can be used to create multiple melodies to a set same tempo. It is very intuitive and easy to use, and is almost exactly what our version of the app would ideally be like, only without any form of connectivity to allow for collaboration. However, the app did allow us to restrict the tempo and key of the notes, which meant that playing multiple recordings over one another would not result in a messy sound, and rather would create a weird but nice harmony when played all at once; the different melodies were in the same musical scale so that it sounded appealing when they were all blended together.

To simulate the effect of multiple people using the app together, we captured footage and audio of several instances of the app playing the music, and then synced all of them up to the drum beat we had created earlier. We then edited the footage and audio with the beat to make a video demonstrating how the idea could work. We displayed the ‘streamer’ in the centre of the screen and placed the instances of the app around it to show how they were all functioning together in ‘real time’.